Benjamin Lankford was born in  Indiana on May 7, 1853.  His actual birth year and location are somewhat up for debate.  Most census records would put his birth in or around 1853, however, his death certificate would indicate he was actually born in 1849.  Because he’s not listed in the 1850 census, I am inclined to believe he was born circa 1853.  The year of his birth would also give a clue as to where he might have been born. Taking into account where his siblings were born, it is likely Benjamin was born in Knox County, likely in Steen Township.  His parents were Benjamin William Lankford and Sally Mattocks.  He had four brothers (William, Harrison, James and Burrell) and four sisters (Martha Jane, Josephine, Sophia, and Lucinda).

The Lankfords supported themselves through farming.  The family was actually in Lawrence County, Indiana until around 1850 when they packed up and moved to Steen Township, Knox County.  They stayed in Knox County for a decade or so before they relocated to Washington in Daviess County in the mid to late 1860s.  It was in Daviess County where Benjamin met and married his first wife Rebecca Jane Burlett on May 8, 1877.  It appears this marriage did not last very long as Benjamin was living with his brother Harrison in 1880 in Steen Township and his marriage status was listed as widowed.

On Christmas Day 1881, Benjamin married a second time to Mrs. Sarah M Hurst.  Very little has been found regarding Sarah or this marriage.

Fast forwarding a decade, Benjamin is at the alter once again.  On October 12, 1893 he married Cordelia Martindale Bland.  The specific location of the marriage is not definitively known, but likely took place in either Knox or Greene County, Indiana.  Cordelia’s first marriage lasted less than three years, but whether it ended in death or divorce, that is not clear. Benjamin supported his family as a carriage painter and they resided in Edwardsport.

Cordelia and Benjamin had two children who lived to adulthood…Mary and Walter.  Mary married Robert Bartlett, however, she only lived to be nineteen.  In 1915 she died of meningitis.  Walter married, several times actually.  He lived to be 78 and made his home in the Linton area.  Cordelia outlived her husband Benjamin.  He was afflicted with pulmonary tuberculosis.  He died on April 15, 1916 in Switz City where he is also buried.

Benjamin Lankford was my 4th great-uncle on my dad’s side.

REFERENCES

• United States Census, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1910
• Indiana Death Certificates
• Indiana Marriage Collection